Public Comment

On July 24, Donald Trump reportedly took a day off from ruining the country [Note: not a typo] to spend most of his "executive time" crouched in front of a TV screen tossing cheeseburgers at the image of Robert Mueller as the Special Prosecutor responded to questions from the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees.

Trump is not a happy camper these days. Signs that he is loosing control (and just might be held accountable for a long list of crimes) do not sit well with Trump's overblown sense of autocratic narcissism. So, to compensate, our increasingly unhinged former game-show host is once again entertaining fraught Apocalyptic fantasies. 

Trump vs. Afghanistan 

Sitting alongside Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in the Oval Office, Trump recently proclaimed: “If we wanted to fight a war in Afghanistan and win it, I could win that war in a week. I just don't want to kill 10 million people.” Asked to elaborate, he added: “I have plans on Afghanistan that if I wanted to win that war, Afghanistan would be wiped off the face of the Earth. It would be gone. It would be over in—literally in ten days. And I don't want to do that. I don't want to go that route.” 

Turning to Khan (whose nuclear-armed country has fought three battles with nuclear-armed India over the past century), Trump winked conspiratorially: “If we wanted to, we could win that war. I have a plan that would win that war in a very short period of time, you understand that better than anybody.” 

It's beyond troubling that Trump equates "winning" with "total annihilation." 

Trump's swagger did not set well with Washington's startled Afghan allies who were understandably alarmed and demanded clarification. An agitated note from the office of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani advised America's self-proclaimed "stable genius" that Afghanistan "will never allow any foreign power to determine its fate" and reminded Trump that "foreign heads of state cannot determine Afghanistan's fate in absence of the Afghan leadership." 

Trump vs. Iran: Anger Management Issues 

In his relationship with Iran, Donald Trump resembles a cheating spouse. 

He starts off by agreeing to a union with Iran to constrain the proliferation of nuclear weapons. (At the same time, Trump is "cheating" on Iran by playing nuclear-nookie with his own personal arsenal.) Then Trump declares he has decided to divorce Iran (which has remained obedient and atomically chaste) citing unexplained "irreconcilable differences." Trump unilaterally announces he is breaking his vows—vows solemnly overseen by the international community—and storms off in a huff. 

He then turns on his former mate, accusing Iran of infidelity and threatening to punish his former partner for the divorce he himself initiated. 

Trump then announces he will refuse to pay alimony and he takes steps to seize all the financial assets claimed by his ex. 

Next up, Trump mounts a blockade around the entire Iranian homeland to further punish Tehran by impeding the delivery of fuel, food, and medicines. He threatens any allied nations that might try to supply his former partner with groceries. (All under the theory that Iran is like a family home and destroying the household economy will promptt the children—trapped in their foodless, barren rooms—to rise up and kick their parents into the street.) 

He berates his rejected partner and boasts of new conquests with more deserving companions. Trump gleefully informs Iran and the rest of the world's jilted leaders that Kim Jong Un "wrote me beautiful letters and we fell in love." 

Like other frustrated male malcontents obsessed with exerting power over a former partner, Trump tweets endless insults directed at Iran and quickly becomes a stalker, sending massive armadas to float menacingly off Iran's doorstep. He launches drones to peer in the bedroom windows to look for signs of "Russian influence." 

Trump's angry tirades directed at Iran resemble the taunts of spousal abusers, especially as they raise the stakes to include threats of violence. Trump calls Iran's leader, Hassan Rouhani "very ignorant and insulting." He threatens Washington's former partner with "overwhelming force" and the threat of "obliteration." 

In a just world, Iran would have the option of applying to the International World Court for a restraining order to protect the country from Trump's on-going-and-visible threats of armed violence. 

Given the possibility that Trump might trigger a war that could go nuclear, it's time for the citizens of our country and our political leaders to issue that "restraining order." Let's remove Trump from office and get this hands away from the nuclear buttons. 

Trump Hate-slams Four Congresswomen 

Donald Trump continues to vent his rage at "the Squad"—Progressive Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich). 

On July 17, the Associated Press Fact Check watchdogs reported that Trump had intentionally "misrepresented words from Rep. Ilhan Omar to make her sound like an al-Qaida sympathizer." 

Trump falsely claimed that Omar said: "You don't say 'America' with this intensity. You say 'al-Qaida,' it makes you proud. Al-Qaida makes you proud. You don't speak that way about America." According to Fact Check, Omar "did not voice pride in the terrorist group." 

In a tweet he demanded an apology "for the foul language they have used, and the terrible things they have said. So many people are angry at them & their horrible & disgusting actions!" The inflammatory tweet was devoid of specifics. 

During the rally, Trump falsely accused Omar (who has criticized Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine) of “launching vicious anti-Semitic screeds" and called Omar a "Radical Left Congresswomen" who, he implied, somehow supported the September 11 attacks. He then stood by as the crowd reacted to his false claims by chanting, “Send her back.”  

Trump's Lies Threaten Lives 

Omar has received death threats in the wake of Trump's "fake news" attacks. 

In July, Presidential Son Eric Trump went on Fox & Friends to boost his dad's Dem-demonizing. 

“I love the tweet: 'If you don’t love our country, get out, leave,'” Eric declared. “If you complain about our country [you should] go experience somewhere else in the world. I’m telling you, 95% of the country is behind him in this message.” (Fake News Alert: A USA TODAY/Ipsos poll found 68% percent of respondents found Trump's tweets offensive and 59% characterized them as "un-American.") 

Young Trump continued to pile on insults, calling the young congressmembers “the most hate-filled group I’ve ever seen before.” And then he proceeded to falsely accuse them of made-up crimes: “They’re letting ICE offices get stormed, and have the American flag ripped down and have the Mexican flag put up. They say anti-Semitic things every single day.”  

Eric ended his screed by accusing the four representatives of engaging in (of all things) "name-calling." 

Reckless, inflammatory speech has consequences. On July 22, two Louisiana police officers were suspended after suggesting on Facebook that Rep. Ocasio-Cortez should be shot. Ocasio-Cortez has revealed that she is regularly getting "hateful messages" and a "flood of death threats." Meanwhile, USA Today quotes Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund telling lawmakers: "We continue to see the threat assessment cases we're opening continue to grow." 

No president should be allowed to shout falsehoods that put people's lives at risk. Trump's false accusations, slurs, and insults seem designed to turn his critics into targets of a partisan rage that he (and now his sons) are stoking. 

Such actions are usually met with defamation lawsuits. But, given Trump's position and power, these heedless attacks go even further, amounting to an "incitement to violence" that should be treated as a crime. 

ACTION: Public Citizen's Robert Weissman suggests "one thing that could really make a difference right now": Sign the petition to Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel: Condemn Trump’s outrageously racist comments targeting the four new congresswomen.